Labour MPs returning to their constituencies this weekend may find themselves barred from local pubs, as a growing protest over business rate changes spreads across the UK. Signs declaring 'No Labour MPs' have appeared in pubs nationwide, reflecting anger over Chancellor Rachel Reeves' budget, which increased property taxes for hospitality venues.
The campaign highlights deepening tensions between politicians and the communities they represent. Backbenchers report frequent hostility in public spaces, with one MP saying, 'The local pub is where we used to go with the kids and just be a normal family. But the last few times we’ve just ended up being shouted at by other customers. Now I’m not even sure we’ll be able to get in.'
Tom Hayes, Labour MP for Bournemouth East, posted a video about being banned from the Larderhouse pub, calling the move 'undermining the inclusive culture that business owners locally have helped to nourish.' He urged: 'We have to get politics off the high street full stop, but especially at Christmas.'
The row threatens to taint the broadly positive reaction to the budget, which raised taxes and scrapped the two-child benefit cap. Chancellor Reeves herself may be barred from the Marsh Inn in Pudsey, whose landlord Martin Knowles said: 'I thought I’d ban them all, including the local MP, as they are not doing our industry any favours at all.'
Pubs face a 76% increase in business rates from April, compared to 4% for large supermarkets, due to a property revaluation. Joe Buckley, landlord of the Tollemache Arms in Northamptonshire, said: 'Literally overnight, the value of our business has doubled. That’s going to be a huge increase for us.' The price of a pint has risen from £3.40 ten years ago to nearly £7 now.
One minister admitted: 'The pubs row is the one weak spot in the budget. That’s the thing we may need to backtrack on.' The hospitality industry is also absorbing rises in national insurance and the minimum wage from last year’s budget.
